Book Review – Retreat (Getaway #1) by Jay Crownover

4 stars

Love me a cowboy!!

He was the spark, but I was the flame.

One of my dreams, or bucket list destinations has always been a week at a dude ranch. Ok, a week might not be enough. Watching those guys wrangle calfs, ride horses as if they were born in a saddle, ogle their backside – naughty me.:-)

So, reading Retreat made me think about all that. Wishing it was me, going on a cowboy retreat. Ha, and I’m from the San Francisco Bay Area as well.

Cyrus Warner was such a grump. He rarely smiled and usually scowled, especially at Leora “Leo”. Cy didn’t look like a cowboy, styled hair, muscled, motorbike boots, and NO cowboy hat, at least Leo thought so and let him know in no uncertain terms. For Cy, Leo looked like someone that expected to be catered, too. A girl from the city that wanted to play cowgirl.

What awesome beginnings. Sexual sparks and animosity galore.

Leo instantly rubbed him the wrong way, from the very first moment he laid eyes on him, but he also couldn’t help being attracted to her.

“You pissed me off and turned me on the second you opened your mouth. I knew in that second, that for whatever reason, you were here for me. We only get this moment, Sunshine, just one, so it needs to matter to you as much as it matters to me.”

For Leo the retreat was a way to leave the misery behind, and let nature cleanse her abused soul. Leo just ended a relationship with a guy that turned out to be married to her boss. She was still licking her wounds and had a hard time believing people after being deceived. But for her best friend Emry she gave this idea of a cowboy retreat a chance.

For Cy meeting Leo was a distraction he didn’t expect or want. His priorities were his brothers and his family’s ranch. But nevertheless it didn’t take long for Leo and Cy to succumb to their attraction.

“I deserve you. I deserve the way you make me feel even if it’s only temporary. Stay with me for a little bit. We don’t have a lot of time.”

Both deserved a break. And Cy was exactly what Leo needed to get back some of her self esteem.

“Who you are matters to me, Leo. I want to know why you’re the one who is on my mind all the time.”

Cy and Leo, were fantastic characters. She, a city girl, snarky, successful and and a bit damaged. Him, a guy that never really wanted to be a cowboy, but had it in his blood. He lost his wife to a divorce when he moved back to Wyoming and took over his father’s ranch. The timing of their meeting was not the best for Leo and Cy, but they both acknowledged that whatever time they got was better then nothing.

“I deserve you. I deserve the way you make me feel even if it’s only temporary. Stay with me for a little bit. We don’t have a lot of time.”

I loved both Cy and Leo. But especially Cyrus. I thought he was a wonderful. Strong, commanding, and a take charge kind of guy. He liked what he saw in Leo. He believed in her and gave her back the confidence and faith in people that she lost. He wanted her exactly the way she was. I wouldn’t say no to a cowboy like that. Apparently Leo thought the same…

He made me mad, he made me happy. He turned me on and he put me out with his hot and cold attitude, but with him I felt more than I ever had before because I wasn’t running from those feelings. I couldn’t control them, or my reaction to him, and that terrified and excited me equally.

All in all Retreat was a wonderful and fast paced novel. The beginning was a little slow but picked up very fast and turned into a thrilling ride. All of the characters in this book were wonderfully depicted and layered. I loved Cy’s brothers, especially Sutton. There was so much pain in him. And I can’t wait to read his and Emry’s story.